Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

Tulips are a big deal in Washington. You’d think it’s Amsterdam. Actually, flowers in general are awesome out here, but the reigning queen of Spring is the tulip. I think part of this reason is that north of Seattle is a place called Skagit Valley and they grow tulips upon tulips upon tulips. And daffodils. And irises. And it’s gorgeous. We went up a little early in the festival (it runs all of April) and caught the end of daffodils and beginning of tulips. One thing that amazed me was the variety of tulips. Not only in color but petal shape too. And they had some awesome names like Ninja. Honestly that’s the only one I remember right now but awesome right?

Tulips
Tulips in Skagit Valley. Photo by Jessica Hall.

The farms in Skagit Valley grow a variety of agriculture but in spring it is all about the flowers. Before we hit up the fields though we stopped for some wine at the Tulip Valley Vineyard and Orchard. The tasting room is in a big red barn and attached is space that at the time was an art show. Our favorite wines from them was their Gewurztraminer and Rose. They also make a cider that is a bit sour but in a good way. Definitely worth a stop if you’re up there.

We spent our time at RoozenGaarde, the largest tulip farm in the area. Their main fields were full of daffodils but their garden was blooming with tulips, like in the photo above, but I also loved the daffodils.

White daffodils (not the technical name by any means). Photo by Jessica Hall
White daffodils (not the technical name by any means). Photo by Jessica Hall
IMG_2726
Rows of yellow daffodils with the mountains peeking out in the background. Photo by Jessica Hall

We passed some fields of tulips as well but I didn’t snap any photos. A friend of mine went the week after us and got some great photos of the fields of pink and purple. But I loved the garden because I could see all of the different varieties.

Photo by Jessica Hall.
Photo by Jessica Hall.
Photo by Jessica Hall.
Photo by Jessica Hall.
Photo by Jessica Hall.
Photo by Jessica Hall.

Anyone else been to the Tulip Festival? What did you think? What’s your favorite flower? 

5 Replies to “Skagit Valley Tulip Festival”

    1. Those are actually tulips, but I love peonies! They are one of my favorites. But I think the coloring/number of petals make it look more like a peony?

      We have a couple friends in Hawaii, I went to visit and it was beautiful! Lewis is huge so maybe you’ll end up this way one day!

      1. I adore both! I remember growing up watching the ants eat away at the outer later and then those big beautiful blooms. I have some fake ones on my kitchen table, lol.
        Yes! I have a feeling army life will be ongoing, so getting Hawaii out if the way early leaves plenty of time for Alaska, Lewis and Germany (among others in sure!)
        Just ready to get to our FDS and start the next chapter of our lives.
        Xo

  1. Wow…how beautiful! We’re still waiting for spring to arrive up here in Michigan (woke up to snow again yesterday! Grrr!), so it’s nice to see that it exists in some places! My dad was stationed at Ft. Lewis when I was in middle school and I remember visiting a place in Washington with a ton of flowers…this must be it!

  2. It’s one of my favorite things to do! It makes for an awesome motorcycle day trip, the gardens have military discounts, and tulips are my favorite flower, it’s an amazing combination.

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